I went to see Harry Potter II last night. Wow. That was really violent. Sorcery aside, wow. That was a LOT of violence. More than Lord of the Rings. And more spiders, and snakes...Wow. (maybe not this particular upcoming Lord of the Rings which promises to be mainly fight sequences) but still. A children's movie. Wow. It was entertaining, some humor, cute lines...but wow. That's all I have to say about that..

Ahhhh! 11 hours of sleep later I'm feeling "human again." Tonight is the dress rehearsal for opera scenes. It will be nice to have it all over with. Oh yes...the early rise story I promised. So yesterday morning I was rudely awaken by my alarm clock blaring that I only had 10 minutes to leave for class. I checked my watch, and it was at least an hour off (but it's a wind up, so I figured I had forgotten to wind it last night) So I rewound my watch, beat my alarm clock up and pulled myself together in a hurry -- skipping a shower. I got in my car, flipped on the radio for my morning program! But somehow my show wasn't playing....and then I realized...My alarm clock still hasn't been changed over from daylight savings. Every morning before I had been coherent enough to remember to subtract an hour....but this morning I had forgotten....so I went to the coffee shop for a Vanilla Steamer....It was a yummy mistake!

So tired. I can't complain too much about the all-nighter sewing marathon the night before last becasue last night was a late night of my own accord -- Lord of the Rings can't wait you know. And tonight instead of sleeping, I went to Four Feathers. SO GOOD! I loved it! I love the characters, I love the fact that Heath Ledger isn't merely a chic flic actor anymore...I love the fact that he wore a beard. It was all good! Great costumes...just enough violence to enhance the horrors of war without being merely gory (Saving Private Ryan had to be that way. I know that....the opening scene is far too realistic...well done, but aaaahhhhhhh) Anyway -- going to bed now. I'd tell you all about my mistaken early rise this morning when I'm coherent enough to type complete sentences...

The novelty hath worn off. I'm so tired of making costumes, and my director has delivered an ultimatum: Either the costumes are done by rehearsal tomorrow, or we don't use them at all. Well. That cramps my style a bit. I was planning on much more time. Well, more time -- not much sincefinal dress rehearsal is thursday night, and Scenes opens friday. So..looks like an all nighter for me. yay.

In the Immortal Words of Patsy Clairmont:

Jason, our youngest, has two goals in life. One is to have fun, and the other is to rest. He does both quite well. So I shouldn't have been surprised by what happened when I sent him to school on fall day. As Jason headed off for the bus, I imediately busied myself preparing for a full day. The knock on the door was a surpise and disruptive to my morning rhythm, which is not something I have a lot of. I flew to the door, jerked it open, only to find myself looking at Jason.

"What are you doing here?" I demanded. "I've quit school," he boldly announced. "Quit school?" I repeated in dispelief and at a decibel too high for human ears. "Why have you quit school?" Without hesitation he proclaimed, "It's too long, it's too hard, and its too boring!"

"Jason," I instantly retorted, "you have just described life. Get on the bus!"

Well, I cannot tell you how many times the Lord has had to echo the counsel back to me - times when I've questioned, "Lord, You say You never give us more than we can bear. You must not be looking. This is hard, very hard! And by the way, Lord, it's been lasting a l-o-o-o-o-o-o-ng time. And if you want to know the truth, it's getting bo-ring!"

About that time, in the recesses of my mind, I hear the refrain, "It's life; get on the bus!"

Find of the day -- a book from 1834. I now own it. Thanks in large part to the "Friends of the Library" fund raiser.

I'm costuming. Forever. And a day. Mr. Aslanian didn't like a scene, but unfortunatly there are no costumes in the theater department to be had....so I'm making them. From scratch...three days from dress rehearsal. So I'm not going to be blogging much. And I have a test on monday. blech. So anyway -- back to the sewing machine. See you guys when the dust settles. My apartment looks like a fabric tornado went through it.

Success!!!! I have survived day one of the book hunt....oh it was a thrilling race -- hundreds of people stood in line eying their maps and picking their gameplan. Upon entering the building I fought off the little kiddies in the children's section, then dashed to the antique books, and made a beeline for the religion section. Somehow people were much politer there -- "Who was looking for latin? I found one!" We had quite a choreographed dance going, with people heading both directions, weaving around each other -- it was an 18th century line dance around a table, with nearly as much small talk. I found myself between a young seminarian and a pastor grappling for the new testament commentaries, and darting in between for Catherine Marshall. C.S. Lewis was not to be found, but I did find "God uses Cracked Pots" by Patsy Clairmont. I won't bore you with a complete total -- actually, yes I will. This is my blog and I want a record before I head back on sunday for the "everything-you-can-stuff-in-a-bag-for-$5" sale.

1. A Wrinkle in Time -- Madeline L'Engle

2. Peter Pan -- J.M. Barry

3. Wolf by the Ears -- Ann Rinaldi

4.Daddy Long Legs -- Jean Webster

5.Saddle Club Book #14 (for my sister)

6.Matilda -- Roald Dahl

7. Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle -- Betty MacDonald

8. Hello, Mrs. Piggle-WIggle -- Betty MacDonald

9 The bells of Heaven, the story of Joan of Arc -- Bick

10. Something More -- Catherine Marshall

11. Adventures in Prayer -- Catherine Marshall

12. To live again -- Catherine Marshall

13. The Helper -- Catherine Marshall

14. Beyond Ourselves -- Catherine Marshall

15. God Uses Cracked Pots/ Normal is just a setting on your dryer/Under his wings -- Patsy Clairmont

16. Navpress bible study on 1,2,3 John

17. Navpress study on Colossians and Philemon

18.Navpress study on Proverbs

19. Navpress study on Joshua

20. Emily Post's book on Etiquette

21. Is there life after Housecleaning -- Don Aslett (hoping to be inspired)

22. Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew

23,24., Commentary on the Gospel of Mark 1&2

25. Commentary on the Gospel of Luke

26,27., Commentary on the Gospel of John 1&2

28. Do-it-yourself needlepoint

29. Making Sunday Special -- Karen Mains

30. A Present Day Challenge to Prayer -- copyright 1922

31. Kept for the Masters Use -- Havergal, copyright 1908

32. Jubilate Deo -- Hymnbook copyright 1900

So that's it -- that's all. Now I just need to go find room on my shelves for them all

Thank goodness its thursday. In the middle of weekday madness, only having one class, and at 2 at that, is such a relief. Today there is a book fair fundraiser for the local library. Every book except a few is a dollar apiece. HEAVEN!! $5 to get in as well. I think I'll take 20. Surely I won't need more than 15 books to add to my collection. I'd take 40...maybe I'll take 40 -- maybe I should go rearrange my bookcases and figure out exactly how much room I have to put them. There's always room for more. I'll just build some wall shelves or something! More news on this when I get back from the hunt!

I really do not want to go to class today. Why should I...I'm having a perfectly wonderful time reading sappy love stories. Not romances -- those are rediculous. But Pride and Prejudice will suffice, and Jane Eyre, and Emma, and Little Women. What is wrong with a book that imposes a moral? Some consider it Victorian and old-fashioned. OH well...There's something refreshing about a method of entertainment that takes its influence and responsiblility seriously. One of my favorites (I keep trying to spell it with an "ou" -- too many british novels) is "An Old Fashioned Girl" by Louisa May Alcott. It goes to great pains to instill the idea that values and morals are much more important than being fashionable. All of her children's books have a second half that shows them making adult decisions, and all of her later characters are my age. I think C.S. Lewis was wise when he said that any book that is good for children should be equally applicable to an adult. What is wrong with morals and values and sacrifice and virtue being good and proper. I turned on my television last evening, something I rarely do anymore, and I was reminded WHY I don't watch television -- the majority of it isn't worth watching. Anyway -- I must get off my soapbox and into the shower. More on this subject later..